C25K Concerns

dennisroc

I have not ran in several years,im 58 year old male with a lot of aches and pains. I started at 220 lbs and am now at 181, 39 lbs lost and 26 to go. I would love to be able to run again but sometimes just a few minutes on the treadmill walking wears me out.
Has anyone else overcame this problem and started to run again or tried and could not run again ?
I am almost afraid to try to run because its been so long,any info would be great,Tnx .

monkeyriley

Have you talked to your Dr. about this? Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends how you look at it), I am a 31 year old male, so my advice does not have the years of experience that another member might have. Prior to restarting with the running, I had concerns about aches in my knee because things were perpetually sore (worked roofing for years during college). I talked to my Dr. about it and she sent me to physical therapy after checking my blood composition and taking my vitals to make sure that a heart condition wouldn't get me before my aches did.

The therapist at P.T. got me started on a routine that focused on strengthening the muscles around the knee and my hips. Within a month the aches were gone. I can still injure it of course, when I slack off of the P.T. exercises/cross-training, overdo the running, etc., but I feel the best I have ever felt in a decade.

I would bet if you posted this in the "fitness and exercise" section you would get a lot better response! If I am not mistaken, the C25K recommends you talk to your Dr. before doing it. I am glad that I did because it helped me feel reassured that I can do this.

chrystee

I'm younger, but 100 pounds heavier.. what i did with my group is start week 1 and just do what you can. stick to week 1 for a bit before moving to week 2. We do each week twice.

cortneymau

I am only 26 and had never run. I started running at 200lbs. There were some aches and pains but nothing ice and elevation couldn't handle. I would really recommend doing week 1 and if that was really hard or you couldn't do it then just repeat it! I repeated a few weeks to work up to the next ones. And some weeks I only ran 2 days instead of 3 because my body needed the rest. Now, I can run (only a pace of 12 min mile) for 45 minutes and completed a 5k after only 10 weeks of using C25K and working up to running longer periods of time.

It takes time to build up the endurance to run again especially with aches and pains but you can do it! Just be safe and listen to your body.

frogman4591

I am 57 and just started running in January of this year. I would advise seeing your doctor first. The C25K program worked for me.

dennisroc

Thanks for the input everyone,i think i will just start out slow and see how things work out.Would feel great to run again !!!

Pebble321

Yup, start slow and monitor how you are feeling. The good thing about C25K is that it is 3 times a week and you start out running for short periods of time before it gets more intense.
Here's my C25K advice:
- Don't be afraid to repeat weeks, I did each of the first few weeks a few times before I felt ready to move on.
- Listen to your body and your joints, if you are having more pain than usual and it doesn't go away with rest, then see a health professional.
- Make sure you have good shoes
- Run SLOW! Really slow. You don't have to run fast at first, you just want to get the minutes and the miles into your legs. Speed can come later.
- If you have any doubts or concerns, talk to your doctor before you start.

saraht131

Just what the others say: Start slow and gently. Increase your times for running real slow, at a 10% rate of increase per week.

One other thing. I got a stress fracture from running when I wasn't used to it. My muscles weren't strong and my core was rubbish. After 15 minutes of running one day, I got a stress fracture. That was two months ago and it's still too painful to run, although I can now just walk without pain.
If you're going to run, do some strength training and core training. Those muscles help your running form and will reduce the risk of injury and stress fractures. Also - make sure you have the right running shoes for your style!